


Early to Bed, Late to Rise

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Children, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-28
Updated: 2008-03-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 15:57:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14793519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Paul breaks his ankle





	Early to Bed, Late to Rise

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: CJ/Danny, CJ/OMC, Danny/OFC, a whole boatload of West Wingers; alternative universe, total fantasy (or is it?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoilers through end of series; possible spoilers for \"Holding Hands on the Way Down\"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not mine, never were, never will be, but they consume my soul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feedback and criticism always welcomed.  


* * *

**7:30 EDT, Tuesday, August 16, 2016; Newport, RI**

“I’m going to build a fire.” Sam Seaborn led the way into the large hallway on the second floor of Rick’s family’s Newport estate.

“As I recall, you, old houses, and fireplaces are not the best possible mix, Sam,” Toby said as he shed the heavy poncho he was wearing. “Maybe you should let Larry or me do it.”

“That was over fifteen years ago, Toby!” Josh exclaimed. “When will you guys let go of it?”

“Let go of what?” Ed came into the room, followed by Jesse Muñoz. They also were wearing ponchos which they removed.

“Hey, guys, look at the puddles. These floors are going to get ruined,” Charlie picked up the pile of dripping ponchos. “Come on, let’s get some towels.” Ed and Larry followed Charlie toward the kitchen while the rest of the men headed toward the large informal living room.

As predicted, the hurricane had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it crossed the North Carolina-Virginia border and then turned out into the Atlantic by the time it reached the Mason-Dixon line. However, a sudden shift in the jet stream brought the storm northward again, right over New England. It caught the men, who were out fishing on Rick’s sailing yacht, in its downpour.

When Sam and Josh entered the living room, a large fire was already burning in the fireplace. They were surprised to see Donna, Morgan, Ginger, and Bonnie gathered about the warmth, wrapped in blankets and holding steaming cups.

“What are you doing here?” Josh asked as Donna came up and kissed him. “We thought that you would have stayed in Provincetown.”

The women had been flown to the tip of Cape Cod, compliments of Sam’s plane, for the day. The children had remained at the Newport estate, where a day of swimming, pizza, and other fun had been planned for them.

“The pilots felt it would be safe to fly back, and we wanted to be here with you and the kids,” Morgan said, “so we prayed a bit and made it safely. I was more concerned crossing the bridge from the airport to here than I was in the air.”

“I think I’ll have a word or two with Phil. He should have called me,” Sam said. “The power’s out?” Sam finally noticed that there were a couple of lanterns in the room.

“The staff said it went out about two hours ago. We’ve got a generator, of course, but it’s basically for the refrigerators, the freezer, the furnace in winter, a television, the lights in the bathrooms,” Ginger told him. “And even if your wife and the rest of us are only frail little women incapable of making rational decisions, how was the pilot supposed to reach you when you were out on raging seas?”

“I’m on your shit list, aren’t I?” Sam asked Ginger, who nodded her head.

“And mine,” said the First Lady of California.

“Where’s Nancy?” Jesse and the others came into the room.

“Nancy, Margaret, and some of the others are in the hot tub. It’s still warm, although the jets don’t work. Zoey and Andy went on to bed.”

“What about CJ?” Toby asked, looking for his friend.

“I think she’s napping also,” Ginger answered. “Why?”

Then Ginger looked around. “Where’s the rest of you? Where’s Rick?” Her voice began to show signs of panic.

“He’s at the hospital - ”, Josh started.

“What’s the matter?” The panic in Ginger’s voice was now full-blown.

“Rick’s fine,” John Hoynes hastened to assure her. “He just went along because he lives here, he knows people.”

Then Toby explained that while they were trying to get back to port, one of the masts cracked. In the rush of getting out of the way, Jean-Luc knocked an anchor from the top of a storage bin and it started falling toward the cooler. Paul tried to catch it and it fell on his foot. Vic was pretty sure that the ankle was broken. An ambulance met them at the dock. Rick, Jean-Luc, and Vic went to the ER with Paul.

“That was about two hours ago. It took us that long to find our way back here. Lots of roads are blocked with high water. We were hoping that they would be back here before you girls – women – got back from P-town. CJ’s going to be - ”.

“I’m going to be what?” CJ came into the room, tightening the ends of the belt of her bathrobe.

“CJ, honey, please,” Josh started toward her.

“Don’t ‘honey’ and ‘please’ me,” CJ answered. Then she looked around, trying to find the face she suddenly realized was not in the room. “Where’s my husband?” Not again, she thought, not a second time, please!

“ _No, Jeannie, it’s not that!” Danny put an arm around CJ and brushed his lips against her forehead._

“ _Relax, girlfriend,” Alicia grabbed at CJ’s hands._

“CJ, relax!” Donna hurried up to her friend and put an arm around her. “It’s nothing like that!” She threw a “You idiot!” look in Josh’s direction.

“It’s nothing, really,” Sam hastened to tell her.

“Where is he?” CJ demanded.

“Right here,” came the voice from the entrance into the room.

Paul made his way into the living room, managing the crutches with relative ease. His left ankle was encased in white. Rick, Jean-Luc, and Vic followed the minister into the room.

Sam helped Paul ease himself onto one of the couches. In answer to CJ’s persistent questions, Josh repeated the story, failing to catch Toby’s warning stare.

“You tried to catch an **anchor**! To save a cooler!” CJ exploded.

“In Paul’s defense, the cooler was full of beer.” Josh interrupted, trying to be helpful.

“What in hell were you thinking?” CJ continued as if Josh had not spoken a syllable.

“CJ, we’ll discuss this later,” Paul said. His voice was soft, but CJ heard the slight twinge of annoyance. She realized that just as she had done so many years ago when Danny took on the crazies who were keying the cars in Santa Monica, she was airing private issues in front of others.

“Sorry,” she mouthed to him and was rewarded with a slight smile.

“I’m tired, cold, wet, hungry, and aching, not necessarily in that order of importance,” Paul said. “If I could get a trash bag or something to cover my foot, I’d like to go upstairs, shower, and get into bed. That is, if there’s hot water?” He looked at Ginger.

“You’re in luck,” Ginger answered. “You’re in the wing with gas water heaters.”

Rick had stepped into the kitchen and came back with a trash bag and some twine, which he handed to CJ.

Vic handed CJ a bottle of pills. “No alcohol; if possible, have him hold the foot out of the shower, even with the bag.”

“We’ll send up some food,” Ginger added. There was another fireplace in the kitchen with two pots of soup heating up over the flames. (Cans of tomato, and vegetable, and Manhattan clam chowder were mixed in one; the other held potato and French onion.)

Twenty-five minutes later, CJ was helping Paul from the shower and drying his body. She had already apologized to her husband, who kissed her lightly while balancing on one crutch and told her that he knew as soon as he reached for the anchor that he was “being an idiot”. The two of them had agreed that the matter was best forgotten.

CJ maneuvered a pair of boxers over Paul’s ankles.

“Do you need help getting them up the rest of the way?”

“Need, no, but want, yes,” Paul smiled at her. “Not that I can do much after that,” he laughed, then grimaced in pain.

CJ laughed in return and pulled the underwear up over her husband’s groin. She had just handed him a T-shirt when there was a knock on the door.

“Room service.” Sam’s voice came through the door.

CJ opened it to see the governor of California holding a tray with two large bowls of soup (one of each variety), a couple of tuna sandwiches, a pot of tea, cups, and a glass of brandy.

“Vic reiterated, the brandy’s for you and not Paul, CJ.”

After they ate, CJ slipped into a sleep shirt, gave Paul two of his pills, and slipped into bed beside her husband.

Luckily, Paul was a back sleeper, so having his ankle in a cast was not as bad as it could have been. CJ curled up against his right side,

“When I realized you weren’t with the others, I was so - ”.

“I know, sweetheart,” Paul replied sleepily, brushing a kiss against her forehead.

“If anything happened to - ”.

She was interrupted by a light snore.

CJ reached up and kissed her husband’s chest, then snuggled down into the warmth of his arm.

**8:45 AM; Wednesday morning**

Sam and Morgan came up to the table where Josh and Donna were drinking coffee. Josh was holding a half-eaten cherry Danish while the dry bagel and bowl of cantaloupe chunks in front of Donna indicated that she was eating healthy, at least for this meal.

The storm was a thing of the past and sunshine poured down on the terrace. There were a few wispy clouds in the bright blue sky; the wind was brisk but not that intense.

“I’m pretty sure the streak will be broken today,” Sam told Josh. “With that cast, there’s no way - Anyway, I’m picking Nancy and Jesse as the new red hot lovers. No kids and all.”

“You lose. They’ve already eaten and have gone down to the beach, looking for driftwood.”

For the past five mornings, Paul and CJ had been the last couple down to breakfast in the morning. Only on the first day, when everyone had to be up early for the bus ride to Manchester and the dedication of Abbey Bartlet’s memorial at the Bartlet Presidential Library grounds, did the two of them come downstairs with everyone else.

On Monday, when the teasing from the other men had become more plentiful, Paul had laughed lightly and said that he was an old man, and needed his sleep.

“With all due respect, Paul,” John Hoynes had answered, “I don’t think that the smile on your face and the glow in CJ’s eyes is the result of extra REM time.”

“And we don’t have any kids to be concerned about on this trip; we wanted to catch up on our rest,” Paul had added. He and CJ had decided to turn the time in New England into a second (well, third, counting the weekend last November) honeymoon. Paddy, Caitlin, and Dansha were in Napa with Gina, Randy, Gina’s mother, and her great-aunt Sophia.

“I don’t think it’s sleep you’re catching up on; I’ve seen you yawning in the afternoon,” Josh had said.

Then Sam had joined in the conversation.

“Not for nothing, but it’s good to know that CJ is happy, that you’ve made her happy, after Danny. She’s been a sister to all of us and we want the best for her. I think you’re it.”

So now, two days later, Sam and Josh decided on a friendly wager, with Josh postulating that CJ and Paul would still be the last couple downstairs and Sam stating that another pair would take that honor. The loser would have to fetch beers for the winner today and tomorrow.

“ _Sam’s gonna lose big time, isn’t he, Ben?” Simon Donovan said as he teed off on the Alpha Centauri course._

“ _So what else is new?” Ben answered as he reached for his clubs. “For such a brilliant political mind, Sam can be so dense. Right, Danny? Danny? Where’d Danny go?”_

“ _Alicia came by,” Jem answered._

“ _We’re supposed to play on without him,” Hugh added._

At the same time, in the bedroom occupied by the Reeves’, Paul drank the rest the rest of his tea and set down his mug on the bedside table. He was sitting up in the bed, his back against the headboard.

CJ sat at her husband’s side, facing him. With her legs crossed, her sleep shirt barely covered the top of her thighs and her minor movements caused tantalizing views to appear and then disappear.

Finally, Paul reached for CJ’s mug and gently took it from her hands. After setting the cup beside his own, he reached for her head, and, a hand on each side of her jaw, began kissing her mouth, soft, slurping little kisses, making gentle sucking sounds as his mouth first surrounded hers and then pulled off her lips.

After a few minutes, CJ put her arms around Paul’s neck and started kissing him in the same manner.

Paul sighed breathily and reached for the hem of her nightwear, lifting her arms in the air as he removed the shirt from her body. On the way down, his left hand stopped at CJ’s neck and grasped the back of it. His right hand continued down until it covered her left breast.

Paul broke away and, using his elbows for support, lowered his body down the bed until he was flat on his back.

“Kneel over me, sweetheart. Kneel over my mouth.”

A little later, Paul helped a quivering CJ slide down his body. She lowered her head to his chest and kissed his neck in between her quieting pants.

When she was breathing steadily, CJ lifted herself from Paul’s torso and moved further down his body. When she reached his hips, she raised hers and, taking his length in her hands, lowered herself onto him. He put his hands on her hips to steady her as she descended, bringing their groins together.

CJ began to move, more back and forth and around than up and down. Paul kept his hands on her, more for support than for direction.

“Is this okay?” She wanted to pleasure her husband, but was concerned that her actions might cause pain.

Looking down at Paul, the look she received in return took her back to their very first weekend together, to the time he taught her how to satisfy a man (and herself) in this position.

“Take it slowly, sweetheart,” he had told her as he kept her from plunging down too quickly and as he watched her face carefully for any sign of discomfort. For a while, he controlled her movements, but then moved his hands from her hips to her waist and to her breast as she acclimated to the motion.

“Am I doing it alright?” CJ had asked him.

It started with upturned lips. Then those lips had spread apart in a wide smile as the glow reached Paul’s eyes. As his eyelids crinkled, he had told her that she was “doing it just fine”. Then he had moved his thumb to her core; she had shrieked at the burst of pleasure and then blushed as Paul first laughed and then pulled her face to his for a kiss.

His hair, his beard, and his mustache were now dark grey, but the look of satisfied happiness was the same. Paul’s left hand left her hip and moved to the small of her back, where it spread out to give her support. The fingers of his right hand pressed in against her stomach while his thumb moved around and then over the throbbing core of her.

Paul brought her to climax and then moved his hands so that both thumbs rested on either side of that little protuberance. His large hands rested along the tops of her legs, his fingers on the curve of her hips. He urged her into a faster pace, a more intense motion.

They had both learned in the years between that first weekend in Berkeley and the present; they came together in a vigorous motion, the balance just right to allow for maximum thrusting impact without separation.

Twenty minutes later, Sam conceded defeat as Bonnie and Jean-Luc came into the living area and headed for the breakfast buffet. Paul and CJ were the only ones not yet downstairs.

Twenty-fives minutes after that, Paul and CJ once again were the targets of good-natured kidding as they finally made their appearance. Paul’s explanation (“I was practicing walking with the crutches”) was greeted with general disbelief, at least by the adults.

**Early afternoon**

“Oh, my God! Donnie! **NO**!!”

Morgan’s voice drowned out the other conversation around the pool. Seventeen month old Donald Leo Seaborn was walking backwards and was approximately nine inches from the deep end of the pool. With the speed of an NFL Hall of Fame running back, Morgan reached her son, scooped him up, and clasped him to her.

“Donnie!” she yelled again. “You scared me half to death! Don’t ever do that again!”

The little boy started crying just as Sam reached his wife and son.

“Mommy scare me. Me fwighten!” The toddler reached for his father.

“Mommy didn’t mean to frighten you, Donnie. But **you** scared **her**. You could have fallen into the water. You need to be careful around water. And I think it’s time for a nap. I’ll read you a story, okay?” The governor of California walked toward the house with his son in his arms.

“ _Erin did the same thing at the same age,” Caitlin Concannon told Esther Dawson. “We were up on Mackinac, before the big fight between my Paddy and Siobhan’s father. I nearly died of fright.”_

“ _Joe didn’t scare the devil out of me until he started playing football. But there was one time, his last game during his junior year of high school – Theo, be careful!”_

“ _Meemaw, it’s heaven and I’m already dead!”_

“ _Watch your mouth, boy! There are switches in heaven!”_

The situation was quickly diffused. Most of the younger children had no inkling about what had taken place. However, one little blonde-headed, not quite six year old girl observed the scene with much interest.

“Uncle Paul, do you like my bird?”

Ít’s a beautiful bird, Clarissa. I thank you very much.” Paul smiled down at Carol and David’s older child.

They were gathered around the swimming pool. The ocean was still much too rough for swimming or boating, so just about everyone was either at the pool or at the tennis court, where Charlie, Josh, John, and David were engaged in a doubles match.

All the children wanted to draw on Paul’s cast (or at least sign their names) and the minister was obliging them. His leg was propped up on a hassock and a small table held markers in eight colors.

“Here you go.” CJ kissed the top of her husband’s head as she handed him a glass of lemonade.

“Aunt CJ, I’m drawing a boat!” Noah Lyman put a final flourish on a sail. “Be sure to show it to Paddy. I still wish he would have come. I’m tired of all these little kids.”

“I see, sweetie. It’s a very nice boat and I will let him know. Look, I think they’re starting to play Marco Polo in the shallow end.”

CJ and Paul watched as Donna and Josh’s oldest jumped into the middle of the game.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Paul said before taking a sip of his drink. “I can only imagine the mischief that Paddy and Noah would have gotten into if our kids were here.”

“Speaking of which, did you save any room for them on your cast?”

“They’ll have a clean canvas, as it were. Vic is getting me something to cover over everything. I’ll take care of it on the trip back. I’m glad we accepted Sam’s offer to fly up with him, Morgan, Gemma, and Donnie. Getting home with this cast on a regular flight wouldn’t have been much fun. Speaking of the kids, when I called Derrick to let him know what happened, he insisted on driving up on Thursday night. He’s going to go get the kids from Gina and Randy on Friday morning for us.”

One of Derrick’s Oberlin fraternity brothers was getting married Sunday afternoon in San Francisco and Derrick was acting as groomsman.

“Joannie, please be careful!” Donna called out to her daughter. The little girl was running around the table where a fruit and veggie tray, some turkey sandwiches, and various cookies were available for those who couldn’t wait the hotdogs that Rick and Ed were tending on the grill.

“I wonder how long this ‘The triplets are little kids’ phase that Noah’s going through is going to last. Up until now, we could treat them pretty much equally, but this past year, with Noah in regular first grade, he insists that he’s older and shouldn’t be lumped in with Leo, Mikey, and Joannie. Of course the fact that due to the way birthdays fall, there’s only fifteen months between them age-wise, but two years, school-wise, doesn’t help. You know, I seriously thought about leaving the DNC and home schooling them,” Donna told CJ and Paul.

“Home school? You? I thought I was going to get run out of the party for sending my kids to Montessori rather than public schools," CJ said amusedly.

“It wouldn’t be because I thought the school was teaching my kids a ‘one world philosophy’ or any of the other exclusionist ideas. It would have been because they wouldn’t be challenged enough in the classroom. But Ginger pointed out that once the kids get into kindergarten and first grade, they can be put in challenging classes, if such classes are available – Joannie, I said stop that running! – so my next strategy is to get more involved with the school district, to make sure that there will be an enrichment program when the others are in the system.”

“As much as I love my girls, I love having the little break from them,” Bonnie said. “They spend three mornings in day care although Jean-Luc and I really only need someone else watching them on two of those mornings -”. Bonnie blushed as she realized what she had just revealed.

Paul and CJ just looked at each other and smiled while Donna and Zoey teased Bonnie, who decided to change the subject.

“Zoey, have you heard anything from Liz or your father?”

The former President had come back to Newport with them late Friday afternoon after the dedication with the intention of staying with the group at Rick and Ginger’s. However, on Saturday morning, they received word that Lord Marbury’s widowed mother had died and Jed flew out to London on Sunday in order to be by his friend’s side. Liz accompanied her father. The funeral had been earlier today.

“Liz emailed last night. She and Dad are going to stay in England for a week. Come here, Maragail.” Zoey held out her hands and almost three year old Marilyn Abigail Young came running into them. The little girl giggled as she splattered water all over her mother and placed a loud kiss on Zoey’s cheek.

CJ looked a little more closely at Zoey. I think she may be pregnant, she thought to herself. She has that glow. New life in a family that had recently suffered a sudden loss would be a good thing.

“ _She is,” Abbey Bartlet whispered to Helen Santos._

_The two of them were attending Dolly Madison’s tea party for First Ladies. By unspoken agreement, they avoided the table with Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt. Neither of them were in the mood for political arguments._

A loud crash caught their attention. The table holding the snacks was on its side and Joannie Lyman was covered with bits of food.

“Come here!” Donna commanded her daughter as the other women went to clean up the mess.

“Didn’t I tell you twice to stop running around?”

The little girl nodded her head up and down.

“But did you listen to me?”

The blonde tresses swished as the head moved side to side.

“Young lady, I want you to just sit here for about fifteen minutes and think about what happened and why.” Donna indicated the cushion at her side.

“But Sev and the other big boys were going to take us for a walk on the beach. They said there would be lots of pretty shells,” Joannie whined.

Donna fixed her daughter with a stare. The little girl sighed and plopped herself on the cushion.

Two minutes later, the tennis players joined the group around the pool.

“Victory is mine! Victory is mine!” Josh proclaimed to all who were listening (and all who weren’t.)

Joannie left her cushion and ran up to her father.

“Daddy! Hurray!” She raised her arms to her father, who lifted her in his.

“Joannie, did I say you could get up?” Donna asked.

Joannie put all the emotion she could into her voice. “Daddy, Mommy’s scaring me! I’m afraid!” She rested her head on Josh’s shoulder and gave her mother a triumphant look.

“And you should be, Joan Elizabetta,” Donna said. “Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.”

Josh Lyman worshiped his daughter, but Josh Lyman also adored his wife. And Josh Lyman was no fool.

“And what did you do, my child, to upset your mother?”

Josh followed the direction of his daughter’s eyes and saw the mess.

“How long were you supposed to sit by Mommy?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Well, now it’s twenty, and it’s in the house.” Josh signaled for Lisa, one of the _au pairs_ , asked her to take Joannie to the nursery where Vicki, another _au pair_ , was with the napping Donnie Seaborn and Alexis Ziegler. He set Joannie on her feet and gave her a little half smack, half pat on her butt as he pushed her toward the young woman.

Paul noticed the unspoken message that passed between Josh and Donna. (“Thank you.” “Did you expect anything less than total support?”)

“Sorry about that, Paul,” Josh said.

“We’ve all been through it,” the minister smiled at them.

“When will it get easier?” Donna asked.

“If you’re lucky, in about eighteen years,” Paul laughed.

**1:55 PM PDT,Friday afternoon; Kensington, CA**

CJ eased the Camry into the garage of their home and sighed. It had been a long day.

Sam’s plane left Providence at 8:30 this morning, Eastern time, and they had arrived in Sacramento at noon. Sam had arranged for their car to be brought to the airport and the drive home had been relatively uneventful.

“I’ll get your crutches.” CJ had just stepped out of the car when the door from the kitchen opened and Paddy ran out, followed by Caitlin.

“Mama! Papa!”

Derrick walked into the garage, carrying Dansha in his arms.

“I’m glad you made it,” the young lawyer said as he kissed CJ and handed her the little girl he was holding. “I need to be at the synagogue by 3:00.” Then he grabbed the crutches and handed them to his father. Once Paul was balanced, the two men exchanged a hug.

A few minutes later, Paul was settled on the deck. Caitlin and Dansha were already drawing flowers on his newly whitewashed cast. Paddy was telling his sisters to leave room for him.

In response to CJ’s question, Derrick was explaining his plans for the weekend. He told his parents that Neil’s fiancée’s grandmother was rather old-fashioned, which is why the wedding was taking place on Sunday afternoon rather than Saturday after sunset. However, another couple was getting married Saturday night, which is why they couldn’t have the rehearsal the day before the wedding. And, of course, with services tonight, both rehearsals had to take place this afternoon.

“This way, I’ll be back in time to handle the kids when the two of you are about ready to collapse,” Derrick laughed.

“Won’t your friends have plans after the rehearsal? You should be with them,” Paul said.

“Actually, we have bachelor plans for tomorrow, not tonight, Dad. Anyway, I’d better get going. I should be back by 5:30.” Derrick flashed a smile, tossed his linen sports jacket over his shoulder, and left the house.

They spent the afternoon outside. The girls played in the kiddie pool while Paddy splashed around the shallow end of the pool. At first, the boy started to protest when told he would have to get out whenever Mama had to go inside the house, but he quickly realized that Papa was serious when he said that he would not be able to get into the pool. Jasmine alternated between lying in the sun, lying in the shade, and chasing the birds and squirrels that invaded the enclosed back yard.

Derrick did get home about 5:30, changed into a suit, and joined Paddy in the pool. Under his brother’s eye, Paddy was able to swim into deeper waters and even to practice diving from the ledge.

About 6:45, Paul and CJ began to show signs of their long day that had started on East coast time, and the children began to show signs of hunger. Derrick offered to take the kids out to eat “so the old folks can go to bed”.

“Chuck E Cheese! Chuck E Cheese!” Paddy exclaimed.

“That’s a half hour away, Paddy,” Paul cautioned the child. The nearest one was down in Hayward.

Caitlin echoed her brother. Then Dansha added her voice.

“Cha Cheese!”

“Okay, Chuck E Cheese,” Derrick laughed. “Let’s all get changed.”

Paddy was the first one dressed; he was inside watching TV and waiting for everyone else.

Derrick was next. While waiting for CJ to finish with the girls, he went back to the deck to sit with his father.

“Are you sure you want to spend your Friday night with three kids? Wouldn’t you rather be somewhere with people your own age, meet some nice, single girls?”

“I’ve kind of given up the bar scene, Dad. Besides, who says I can’t meet some nice girls at Chuck E Cheese?”

“I’m sure you can. But the nice girls at Chuck E Cheese are likely to be there with children – their own children.”

“Dad, I can’t believe that you, of all people, are telling me I should avoid women who happen to have children. Or do you think that I’m not capable of loving the children of the woman I love the way you love Paddy and Caitlin?”

“That’s not what I meant to say and I apologize for giving that impression. But our situations are very different. I’m older, I’ve had experience with parenting, thanks to you and your sister,” Paul smiled at his son. “Being a father to a ready-made family with no previous experience is not the easiest situation.”

“But if you love the woman, it’s worth it, right? And if it were to happen, I have you as a resource, right?”

“Of course and of course. But there’s another consideration. What if the woman didn’t want any more children? Could you deal with that?”

Derrick looked down at his hands. “I don’t know. It’s always been in the back of my mind, having kids. And especially since I’ve seen you and CJ, the idea of having them with a wife that I love as much as you loved Mom, and now CJ. It is special, isn’t it, Dad?” Derrick looked around, lowered his voice. “With your own. I mean, I know you love Paddy and Caitlin, but Dansha is special; I can tell.”

Paul nodded in agreement. “There is something about impregnating the woman you love, and having her want to have your child growing within her, either by planning beforehand or by accepting the pregnancy after the fact. To know that your love has produced another life, it’s just so amazing.”

_Danny looked at Cosmas, Damian, and Danielle. Alicia looked at Leslie and Theo. They smiled at each other and then they looked away, lost in memory_.

“We’re ready!”

CJ came out with the girls and Paddy started chanting “Let’s go!”

After helping Derrick put the kids in the van, CJ came back into the kitchen. Paul was balanced on one crutch, looking in the refrigerator.

“Supper?” She asked.

“I’m not that hungry. There’s some sliced turkey in here. Maybe a sandwich.”

“And some soup,” CJ added. She rummaged through a cupboard and held up a carton of tomato rice soup for Paul’s approval.

Twenty minutes later, they were seated at the table, their meal finished. CJ got up, rinsed the dishes, and put them in the dishwasher. Paul reached for his crutches, told CJ he was going to lock up, and pushed her toward the bedroom.

“I’ll do that, darling,” CJ said. “I can’t believe we’re going to sleep before sunset.”

“Who said anything about sleep?”


End file.
